


You, Me And The Rainbow In Between

by milesandmilestogo



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst and Humor, Fiction, Fluff, Gay, Homosexuality, Humor, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Love, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Original Character(s), Romance, Young Love, Youth, i don't even know how to tag stuff over here to be honest, life - Freeform, young adult
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-11 15:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7897441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milesandmilestogo/pseuds/milesandmilestogo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-</p>
<p>Finn's parents always told him that being in love was one of the most beautiful, strong and pure feelings in life.</p>
<p>He had no idea just how right they were - and how wrong.</p>
<p>Because just like life in general, not everything works out as planned and sometimes we have to accept that happiness comes with pain.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Or:  16-year-old Finn works at a diner to save money for college, so he can leave his hometown and start all over.<br/>During one faithful night he meets the handsome, one-year older aspiring writer Evan, who quickly becomes more than just a stranger with a terrible music taste.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> - The POV can change from time to time. -</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Feels like Spring

**Author's Note:**

> Caution: English isn't my first language, so you will definitely find a lot of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.  
> I hope you will still be able to enjoy the story!  
> :) :)
> 
> You can also find the story on Wattpad: wattpad.com/user/milesandmilestogo  
> or on tumblr: moremilesandmilestogo.tumblr.com/

I still remember the first time we met.

I wish I could describe it as a sunny, lovely Sunday evening in June, somewhere beautiful with the sun going down in the background, music playing from everywhere.

But that day was far from perfect.

 

You were sitting in a dark corner of a cheap diner that served burned toast all day, sipping bad coffee out of a bright yellow plastic cup.

And in your head you were in an even darker place.

 

The music from the jukebox changed, a sad melody from an old movie my parents have watched more than a thousand times.

You looked up, your eyes looked empty.

 

I've just started working at the diner.

I have spent every weekend at this place, cleaning tables and dishes, trying to stop mothers from flirting with me while they were sitting at the dirty tables with their new affair, mostly their husband's brother.

"You look so handsome, too bad you could be my son", they said with a fake smile on their lip gloss coated lips.

I would give them a small smile back, trying my hardest not to roll my eyes.

And every night I would look out the windows, wondering if I ever get the chance to leave this town.

 

"Can I have the bill, please?", a deep, husky voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah- Yeah, sure. Just a second please."

You gave me a tight smile, lips pressed into a thin line.

 

There was something interesting about you, something I can't describe.

I wasn't attracted to you in a physical way. Sure, you were extremely handsome, looking like you deserved to be on billboards and posters all over the town...but there was something else.

I never exchanged a single word with you, besides now, but I could feel that you had stories to tell.

Good and honest stories that would make my days brighter and my evenings a little less lonely.

 

With a deep breath, I grabbed the piece of paper with your order on it and handed it to you.

Your shaking hands reached for your wallet. You took a quick look at the paper and handed me a 10-dollar bill.

"Keep the rest", you said and got up from your seat.

"Thank you, have a nice day."

I couldn't do much for you, so I decided just to smile as I started to wipe down the table.

In the corner of my eye I could see you stopping for a second, then putting something on the counter, but I chose to ignore it. People put their garbage everywhere, I was used to pick up the leftovers and broken pieces of others all the time.

 

Sighing, I went over to my manager Amy to tell her that I have to get home and work on an essay.

The thing you left caught my eye. A bright red, folded up napkin. I was curious, so I decided to open it.

 

_"Thank you for your genuine smile. I missed seeing a real thing in this world. "_

 

You signed it with your name.

 

Amy came up behind me, to tell me that it was okay to go back home.

She looked at the napkin in my hand and frowned.

 

"Who's Evan?"

 

And that was the first time I've ever heard your name.


	2. Tiny record stores & crushed guitars

 

The next time I saw Evan was almost a full month later.

It was in a tiny record store one of my friends worked at.

 

  
As I was entering the shop to surprise him, I noticed a familiar face standing in front of the vintage vinyls.

The dark haired boy's fingers traced over the paper covers, his eyebrows were knitted together in concentration.

Once again I realized just how breathtakingly beautiful he was with his now love filled, warm hazel eyes and plump pink lips.

 

He pulled a record out of the rack and I tried my hardest to find out which one he picked.

Slowly, - _while trying not to be too conspicuous_ -, I tiptoed over to where he stood.  
My feet were barely touching the ground, I even stopped breathing for a few seconds, too scared to make a sound.

 

 _In retrospect, I probably looked like someone trying to approach a wild animal._  
  
**But it worked.**

 

  
The tall man, _Evan_ , I remembered, seemed to not notice me, as he turned around to go to the checkout in the other corner of the shop.

I cursed internally as I was now forced to continue with my weird behavior in the other direction.

  
With careful baby steps I approached my target - _probably shouldn't call him that though._  
  
I squinted my eyes trying to read the cover, praying and hoping for him not to see me behind a shelf, lurking over him.

 

"Bea - Bea- Beatles? No. Bea...?"

 

 

"FINN, HI! Good to see you man!"

 

_Insert manly screech._

 

Tripping over my own feet, I stumbled across the room and tried to hold my balance by holding the wall nearby, only to knock over some of the guitars that were leaning against it.  
Obviously this ended in a disaster, as a particular expensive looking guitar crashed on the ground with a terribly loud sound.  
  
Everyone in the store winced and looked at me.

  
"Good to see you too?"

 

\------------------------------------

 

 

"What exactly are you doing here? Besides destroying the whole shop?",

Adam asked me as he picked up some of the guitars and looked over them, making sure they were not broken or otherwise damaged.

 

"Umm..just wanted to-", my eyes shifted over to the instruments on the ground.

"-W- wanted to check out the guitars".

I gulped.

 

Adam rose his eyebrows in question, but decided not to ask me, too used to my odd behavior.

 

"I should probably pick them up, sorry. It won't happen again."

"You don't have to do that...just-  don't touch anything, alright? 

And I mean ANYTHING. I know you, Finn."

 

He pointed to the checkout and swiftly walked over.

"I have to take care of a costumer. DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!", he yelled over his shoulder.

 

"I am sorry about that. Woah great choice on that, man!"

I heard the muffled conversation between Adam and the guy I've seen a month ago at the diner.

Sighing, I looked down at the mess I've made.

 

I was deep in my thoughts when I heard breathing next to me and jumped.

 

"I am sorry, I didn't want to scare you.", Evan said and lightly put a hand on my shoulder.

"Just saw you surrounded by the guitars and thought I could help you pick them up. You know...as you are not allowed to."

 

I huffed and crossed my arms, but put them down as soon as I realized that I probably looked more like a 5-year-old than the 16-year-old I was supposed to be.

He smiled with his dimples popping out and bent down to pick the first one up.

 

"No, don't do that. It was my fault and I bet Adam will be right back.

Oh, Adam is the cashier dude guy thing.... the guy who works here."

 

 _Nice one, Finn._ I mentally slapped myself.

 

"Oh I know. Not my first time here."

I opened my mouth when I heard Evan's phone ringing.

He fished his phone out of his jeans pocket, looked at it with knitted eyebrows and - _annoyance?_ \- in his eyes.

 

"Sorry about that. I have to leave. It was nice meeting you again."

"Wha-?"

"The diner? Harrison's? You probably don't remember it."

He shook his head and almost looked disappointed.

 

"We met there before, I left -"

"Oh no, I remember...Evan, right?"

"Yes", he stretched out his hand.

"Finn", I answered, shaking his hand, trying my hardest to breathe normally.

 

_Get yourself together, Finn. He is just a stranger you'll never meet again._

 

"Okay, Finn. I'll see you again."

I just nodded.

 

He put the black plastic bag with the vinyl in it on the floor, so his hands were free, picked up two guitars at once and leaned them against the wall.

With a last glance at me, he walked away.

Before he reached the glass door though, he turned around again.

"Oh and btw., it's the The Beach Boys."

 

I felt my lungs giving up on me.

 

"Next time, just ask", he said teasingly and winked - actually freaking winked - at me.

And then he left me stunned, standing in a corner of a tiny record store, cheeks red of embarrassment.

 

_This little -_

"Hey, I'm back"

"Congrats, Adam! Where were you 5 minutes ago??"

"Oh you know, I just didn't want to disturb you."

 

And that was the story of how I walked 16 blocks back home, hoping to get my frantic heart to calm down, while simultaneously planning on how to murder Adam.


	3. The midnight ice cream container of shame

 

Today was one of those days you wake up at around 1 pm after you spent all night on the internet looking at cat videos and pasta recipes.

 

It was currently 1:10 pm and I was already done with the day.

The only acceptable reason for me to get up was to drag myself to the living room, just so I can lay face down on the couch to watch some trashy reality show about one man and 20 women or one woman trying to find a man with 20 billion on his bank account.

Maybe going to the kitchen to get some milk, fresh fruits and cereal was also okay.

 

Exactly 25 minutes later, I finally made a decision and stood up to walk to the holy place in this house aka the place my family lovingly calls "the food cave": Our kitchen.

 

There I spent another 10 minutes by just rummaging through every cabinet, drawer and shelf. Twice.

Of course I had to drop an egg in the process, only seconds after I opened the fridge. 

 

Sighing I picked up the broken pieces of egg shell and used a wet rag to clean up the mess I've made.

_Felt a lot like working at the diner._

 

I winced when I saw the empty ice cream container ( _of shame_ , I added internally) sitting on the top of the trash can.

Shaking my head, I tried to blend out the memories of the evening before.

 

_I came home, slammed shut the front door, went into my room and turned on the music._

_It was so much easier for me to think when I was surrounded by a beautiful sound, with the beat vibrating through my body._

 

_With every single second that passed I could only ask myself one thing:_

_Why on earth can I not stop thinking of Evan?_

 

_And then I found myself in a spiral of questions:_

 

**_Why did I meet him again?  
_ **

**_Was it really just a coincidence?  
_ **

**_Do coincidences even exist or was it meant to be?  
_ **

**_And why would it be meant to be?_ **

**_So he can tell me more about The Beach Boys?...or...I don't know, that's literally all I know about him.  
_ **

**_He listens to The Beach Boys.  
_ **

**_IF the vinyl was even for him.  
_ **

**_Maybe it was for his parents. Or a friend. Or boyfriend. Or girlfriend._ **

**_Oh God, what if he is a serial killer and I'm his next victim._ **

**_No, no._ **

**_Does he like art?  
_ **

**_Wait, where did that question came from. Back to him being a serial killer._ **

_**He has beautiful eyes.  
** _

_**The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.** _

_**Why were his eyes so beautiful?** _

 

_My train of thoughts was interrupted by a knock on the door._

_I ran a hand over my face, turned off the music blasting from my stereo player (yes, they still exist) and opened the door._

_On the other side was my mother who smiled warmly at me._

 

_"Hey honey, how was your day?"_

 

_Confused I looked back to the clock standing on my night stand._

**_7 pm._ **

 

_I spent the last 2 hours listening to loud music and thinking about a criminal with beautiful eyes who listens to The Beach Boys with both his parents and girlfriend._

 

_"Umm..hi. Yes, my day was nice. You know... Just walked to the record shop to visit Adam-"_

_"Walked?"_

_"Yeah, the weather was nice."_

 

_My faked smile looked more like a grimace, but thankfully she chose not comment on that._

 

_"Wow, that has never been a reason for you to walk, but okay. Your dad is working on dinner right now. Could you help him set the table? You know he'll mess it up"_

_"Sure, mom"_

 

_"Thank you", she kissed my cheek and left to get changed in their bedroom._

 

_I sighed in relief. Usually she always finds out if something is wrong with me. Weird parent power I guess._

 

_And while I helped my dad setting the table, by telling him countless times that 'yes, we love you, but you are doing everything wrong' , I decided the only reason why Evan was running a marathon through my mind was the simple reason that I embarrassed myself in front of him._

_I wasn't thinking about him as a person, I was just reliving an awkward situation and he was accidentally a part of it.  
_

**_And that's it._ **

 

Dropping the remaining egg shell pieces into the trash can, I remembered that I still had to call Amy to ask her when my shift at the diner starts today.

Taking two steps at the time, I ran – actually ran – up to my room to get my phone.

 

As always it was laying on my bed and I almost felt bad for it.

I felt bad for an inanimate object that looked lonely. _You need a hobby, Finn._

I looked back at the display of my phone and saw that I got a new message.

 

**New Text Message from: Adam**

 

" _Dude from yesterday just came in, told me he doesn't want to be creepy but he had a letter for you_.

_He LITERALLY  said he doesn't want to be CREEPY  but leaves A LETTER  for you._

_I was a good friend for once and haven't read it yet. Can't promise anything though, you better pick it up today._

_...._

_PS: Bring donuts"_

 

 

**My heart stopped beating.**


	4. Of second homes and best friends from hell

 

I've never arrived at a destination that fast, which is funny if I consider the fact that I didn't even wanted to know what the letter said in first place, too afraid it would be something that could shatter my heart.

Words hurt more than any physical pain and it killed me to know that a random stranger had so much power over my emotional health.

But years and years of people hurting you with a simple word changes your perspective on certain things. Suddenly you're in a warzone and everyone is carrying around a gun, while you are the only one who is unarmed.

 

 

I was out of breath once I reached the familiar shop, which I could basically call my second home with all the time I've spent over there.

Usually I would walk in, laugh with Adam over some bad jokes or get the two of us some nasty junk food from a greasy stand not far from here.

In any other circumstances the other boy would leave a smart remark about me rushing into the little shop - and I was pretty sure it was sitting on the tip of his tongue - but one look at the frantic expression on my face, the wide eyes and probably also the unattractively amount of sweat on my forehead, made him shut his mouth.

At least he knew when it was an appropriate time to make jokes and when exactly he should keep the sass to himself.

 

 

Obviously he still greeted me with a knowing grin _that sneaky ba-_

 

"Finn, hi!"

"He-hey Adam."

"Long time no see!"

"Yeah, thought you would miss me."

 

At this he let out a loud laugh, stepped back from behind the counter and gave me a tight hug as a proper greeting. 

 

Okay, he definitely gave the best hugs in the world. Probably because he is the only guy I know, who knows how to spray just the right amount of fragrance on his clothes. Or maybe it's because I felt safe whenever he wrapped his strong arms around me. 

 

"Wow you got taller since last time! What are you now? Six feet?"

 

Of course he had to play games now.

A long, suffering sigh escaped my mouth.

 

"...Adaaam" I whined, pouting my lips.

 

"Hey, I made no comment about you running into the shop like you were part of a flippin' marathon, let me at least tease you for always being here like you have no actual home."

 

I rolled my eyes at his behavior and took a seat on one of the colorful chairs in the corner of the room, even though I had no idea what they were doing there in first place. Apparently they were for costumers, so they could be comfortable while trying out the guitars, but the only people I've ever seen sitting on them, were the many girls Adam tried to impress with his knowledge of 80s music.

Although I'm pretty sure that all they could see was an inked arm, some ripped jeans and a shirt that was definitely tighter than any pair of skinny pants I own.

Yes, Adam is definitely a gorgeous man. Sue me. 

 

 

"Are you here for a reason?", he asked me nonchalantly.

"Adam", I groaned and rolled my eyes again. I sure do that a lot around him.

 

_One day they will be stuck in the back of my head and it will be his fault. Then he has the job to explain to my parents why their precious son is blind, all while he has to feed me and take care of my service dog and -_

 

"Finn? FINN? HELLO?"

"Huh?"

"You zoned out there!" His hands were flying around in the most dramatic way, the movement pulling me out of my thoughts.

 

"Oh sorry, you were saying?"

 

And there was it again: That cheeky grin I wanted to punch out of his face. 

He is lucky that I call him my best friend.

 

"I wanted to know if you'd like to have the letter Mr. handsome left for you"

"Oh...yeah okay." I tried way too hard to sound casual about it, but my slightly shaking voice gave me away.

Feeling too betrayed by my own body to even say a word, I simply nodded once again.

 

Adam rounded the corner and walked back to the desk, before retrieving something from a shelf underneath.

It was a normal white envelope with something scribbled on top of it.

He returned with a smile -a genuine smile- on his face and handed it to me, before he walked away to greet a new costumer.

A young girl looking for someone who can help her finding the right drumsticks - go figure.

 

 

I played with the envelope in my hand and as soon as my best friend was looking in my direction, I signaled him with a tiny wave that I would leave.

He gave me a thumbs up and a look that said it all : He was happy for me but still concerned, knowing like no one else, how much words meant to me.

 

Even when they were only written down by some random stranger.

**Author's Note:**

> Copyright: All Rights Reserved


End file.
